At the foot of Main Street, the Town dock has been closed to both pedestrians and boaters since an inspection in February 2025 found it unsafe. This will be its second holiday season out of service. A few blocks away, Bicentennial Park has a new boardwalk extension and a public day dock that weren't there two Novembers ago.
Both of Swansboro's November holiday nights take place along that stretch of downtown. One is put on by the shops and restaurants on land. The other is put on by the Town on the water. The waterfront they share has changed, and the unfinished part of that change is tied to a grant cycle that runs through June 2027.
November 14 Belongs to the Merchants
Swansboro by Candlelight is set for Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 5 to 9 p.m. The hosts are the Swansboro Downtown Merchants & Restaurants, not the Town. According to the Onslow County tourism event listing, downtown streets will be lined with luminaries, shop windows will be decorated, and the merchants and restaurants will provide refreshments.
The Town has one scheduled moment that night, and it comes early. Here is the evening in order:
- 5 p.m. Doors open downtown, and Swansboro Dance Studio performs scenes from its Nutcracker Ballet.
- 6 p.m. The Town of Swansboro's annual Christmas Tree Lighting in Olde Towne Square.
- Through the evening. Live entertainment in Olde Towne Square, with wine tastings at Bake Bottle & Brew and The Gray Dolphin.
- 9 p.m. The event wraps up.
With the dance performance and the tree lighting an hour apart, families with young children can see both and still have the rest of the evening for the shops. Since the wine tastings are at two specific storefronts, those are the two places to plan around if you're bringing friends for the tastings.
Candlelight happens almost entirely on land, among the storefronts. The waterfront becomes the main stage two weeks later.
November 27 Moves the Season Onto the Water
The Team Chevrolet of Swansboro Christmas Flotilla is on Friday, November 27, 2026, the day after Thanksgiving, starting at 5 p.m. According to the Swansboro Festivals flotilla page, decorated boats will enter the harbor at about 6 p.m. and circle for 20 to 30 minutes. Santa will be there, along with hot cider and cocoa.
That 20-to-30-minute window is the part you can't make up later. If you arrive at 6:30, you could miss most of it.
Parking is set up so cars stay out of downtown:
- General parking is at the Ward Farm fields behind the Hampton Inn. A shuttle runs to Town Hall, and you walk downtown from there.
- Accessible parking is at Town Hall, with a golf cart shuttle to the waterfront.
If your Thanksgiving guests are still in town that Friday, plan for the shuttle ride and the walk from Town Hall, and allow time for both.
Neither the festival page nor the Town has named an official 2026 viewing area. The festival page only says the boats "glide along the waterfront." A 2014 Jacksonville Daily News piece said the parade could be seen "from any spot along the water." That article is more than a decade old, though, and the waterfront has changed since then.
The Waterfront Gained One Dock and Lost Another
Since spring 2025, the two public docks downtown have been in opposite situations.
| Bicentennial Park day dock | Main Street Dock | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant | $142,350, awarded November 3, 2020 | $127,623 state grant toward a $170,164 project, awarded August 25, 2025 |
| Status | Completed; certificate of compliance April 23, 2025 | Closed to pedestrians and boaters since a February 2025 inspection |
| What's next | Open | CAMA permit, design firm, bidding, then construction |
| Time frame | Construction began October 2024 | About one year of work within a grant cycle ending June 2027 |
The Bicentennial Park project took a long time to finish. According to a Town Manager's report, it was delayed by design revisions, CAMA and NCDOT permitting, required dredging, and a badly deteriorated bulkhead whose replacement cost $101,450. The construction bids came in over budget. After the project was redesigned and the Swansboro Tourism Development Authority added money, Carteret Marine won the contract for about $211,200. The finished project included a wooden boardwalk, a floating dock, a gangway and boat slips. It took four and a half years to go from grant award to a finished day dock.
The Main Street Dock replacement is earlier in the same process. At the January 27, 2026 Board meeting, Town Manager Jon Barlow said the Coastal Management contracts had been received and signed. Next, the Town would complete the CAMA permit, hire a design firm and bid the project. He expected design, bidding, permitting and construction to take about a year, within an 18-month grant cycle that ends in June 2027, according to the meeting minutes. The Manager's Report in the September 22, 2026 Board packet still describes staff preparing a major CAMA permit application and lists no bid or construction start.
So for this year's flotilla, the dock at the foot of Main Street is still closed, and the newly finished public access on the water is at Bicentennial Park. Neither the Town nor the organizers have said where the boats will circle relative to either dock. With no bid posted as of the September packet, the 2026 flotilla will go on without the Main Street Dock.
Last Year's Street Closures Are the Best Guide Available
The street closures posted on the flotilla page are still the 2025 notice for the November 28, 2025 event. That plan closed streets at 3 p.m. and expected them to reopen around 9 p.m. It shut all of Front Street and Church Street, Water Street from NC 24 to Broad Street, and Main Street from Elm Street to the water. Elm Street ran southbound only and Walnut Street ran northbound only.
No 2026 version has been posted yet. If this year's plan looks like last year's, anyone living or working inside that grid should expect to drive out before mid-afternoon on the 27th or stay in until the evening is over. When the Town posts the 2026 closures, those will replace this guidance.
Boat Owners Have Until the 27th to Sign Up
The flotilla runs on volunteer boats. Owners who want to decorate a boat and join can register through the Town's recreation portal at swansboro.recdesk.com or contact event organizer Anna Stanley at the Town. The festival page says entries compete for "bragging rights as one of the most festive boats on the water." The boater section of that page still lists the 2025 date of November 28. The 2026 date is Friday, November 27, confirmed both at the top of the same page and on the Onslow County tourism calendar.
Boat owners should know the Main Street Dock is closed to boaters too, so it can't be used as a meeting point before the parade. Ask the organizer where to stage before you go out on the water.
Three Dates to Plan Around
The two events are 13 days apart, with Thanksgiving in between:
- Saturday, November 14: Candlelight, 5 to 9 p.m., with the tree lighting at 6 p.m. in Olde Towne Square.
- Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving.
- Friday, November 27: Flotilla starting at 5 p.m., boats in the harbor around 6 p.m., shuttle from the Ward Farm fields.
Construction has been underway at 1071 and 1073 W. Corbett Avenue near N.C. 24 and Hammock Beach Road, where WCTI reported a Wawa is being built. WCTI said no opening date had been announced as of September. If you're driving in from the west side of town on either night, count on the usual work-zone delays there.
The Linda Rike team keeps an eye on Swansboro's waterfront projects as they move through permits and bids. If you own near the water downtown and want to talk through what the dock timeline could mean for you, contact us.
